1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus or an image recording apparatus, in particular, a photographic printer producing a photographic image by means of a printing head upon a rolled paper such as a color thermal recording paper.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the manner which will be described in details, such photographic printers are already known upon laying open of the following patent documents. As a first related art apparatus, a patent document No. 1 is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application, Un examined Prepublication No. 208001 of 1999 (JPH11-208001A).
Referring FIG. 6 of the accompanying drawing corresponding to FIG. 8 of the patent document 1, the first related art apparatus comprises a thermal head 102 for printing a thermal recording paper 101, a platen roller 103 facing the thermal head 102, a driving pivot 4 supported by the platen roller 103, a pair of capstan rollers 105, a support member 102A for supporting the thermal head 102, a support mechanism 106 protruded perpendicularly to the figure from the support member 102A, a pinch roller 107 arranged with the support mechanism 106 on both sides thereof, ultraviolet ray lamps 108 and 109 for yellow and magenta color fixture arranged upon downstream and upstream of the thermal head 102.
In operation of the related art apparatus, the driving pivot 104 is rotated for carrying the color thermal recording paper 101 towards downstream (forward) F and upstream (backward) B, so that the pair of capstan rollers 105 and the pinch roller 107 sandwich upon an up side and a down side of the color thermal recording paper 101 passed between the thermal head 102 and the platen roller 103. When the first forward F is performed, a yellow thermal color layer of the color thermal recording paper 101 by means of the thermal head 102 is colored by the ultraviolet ray lamp 108 for yellow color fixture. When the second forward F is performed, a magenta thermal color layer of the color thermal recording paper 101 by means of the thermal head 102 is colored by the ultraviolet ray lamp 109 for magenta color fixture. When the third forward F is performed, a cyan thermal color layer of the color thermal recording paper 101 by means of the thermal head 102 is colored by the ultraviolet ray lamp (not shown) for cyan color fixture. In such a way, a printed sheet is resultingly cut and is released from the apparatus.
Inasmuch as the color thermal recording paper 101 is the rolled paper and is colored by heating, the rolled paper remains an amount of curl which is directed in an opposite side of a photographic image surface thereof, so that a user is difficult to handle the printed sheet with a curl for pasting upon an album and/or filing.
In order to prevent the rolled paper from occurring the curl of the rolled paper, another example of an image recording apparatus is provided with a feed roller and a sponge roller as a mechanism for only curing the curl of the rolled paper (see FIG. 7 of a patent document No. 2 (Japanese Patent Application, Unexamined Prepublication No. 278243 of 1997 (JPH9-278243A)).
It is, however, disadvantageous in that the mechanism for only curing the curl of the rolled paper is specially required, so that it brings about to increase not only the number of the manufacturing parts but also the manufacturing cost and to thereby reduce size of the related art apparatus.